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Reproductive health stories from Pathfinder and beyond

As part of the Ford Foundation-funded “I Know, I Decide” project, the Pathfinder and the Egyptian Family Planning Association adapted the GREAT project Activity Cards to fit Egypt’s unique social and political context.

On December 15, Pathfinder joined the Youth Health and Rights Coalition, the Evidence to Action project, USAID and the World Health Organization to launch the Journal of Adolescent Health’s special supplement on adolescent sexual and reproductive health.

Pathfinder's Activity Cards got Ugandan adolescents thinking about gender, sexual and reproductive health, alcohol, and other issues they face at this time in their life using discussion and debate so they could formulate their own conclusions.

Addressing the sexual and reproductive health of mothers younger than 25 and their partners, referred to as first-time parents, is an integral part of meeting global health goals—curbing the unmet need for contraception, addressing high rates of unintended pregnancy and perinatal mortality—and applying a rights-based approach to delivery of sexual and reproductive health services.

Today is a day of beginnings at Pathfinder. It is the first of the month, the start of a new fiscal year, and importantly, today is the official start of a new five-year strategy. Looking beyond 2015, we must advance sexual and reproductive health and rights globally by catalyzing change locally. We must do it now.

For 50 years, Pathfinder International has served millions of women, men, and young people across Kenya. Today, we celebrate our proudest, most groundbreaking achievements. And we thank the dedicated and passionate partners, donors, and staff that made them possible.

When Harriet was 15, two life-changing things happened. The rebel Lord’s Resistance Army finally left Uganda, allowing families like hers to return to what was left of their homes. That same year, she gave birth to her first child. Suddenly, she and her husband, Emmanuel, had to look to the future. But that seemed impossible.

Azhar Hamdy was desperate. A divorced mother in Egypt’s poorest governorate, she believed the only way to give her daughters a better life was to marry them off young. But she was wrong. This is her story.

For the past five years, millions of women, men, and young people throughout Ethiopia have been touched by the Integrated Family Health Program, led by Pathfinder International and JSI and funded by USAID.

It’s officially spring and World Health Day is on its way (April 7th)! I don’t know about you, but I often enjoy the weather with book in hand. Here are eleven great global health reads as recommended by Pathfinder staff.

Sitting on the floor of a modest concrete building in Bihar, India, 21 year-old Nicky recalled how, as a teenager, she convinced her parents not to marry her off. I’ve heard many stories similar to hers but this time, I was witnessing empowerment with my own eyes.

What if your best option for contraception was off limits, simply because of your age? This is a reality for many young people who want to use contraceptive implants. But it doesn't have to be this way.